Make Snap Restrictive Again
The rules, in 10 words: Tighten rules for food assistance, making it harder to access.
Current status: The administration introduced three rules aimed at shrinking the SNAP in 2019. One has been struck down in federal court, and the other two have not been finalized.
Projected impact: If fully implemented as proposed, the rules would boot nearly 4 million participants from the SNAP rolls. The first would do so by subjecting more people to work requirements. The second would end flexibilities that allow states to loosen eligibility restrictions for participants who have assets like savings accounts, cars, or homes, and raise the programs gross income limit. The third would modify allowable utility expense deductions.
Lovers: Fiscal conservatives, advocates of welfare reform.
Haters: Anti-poverty groups, Democrats, food banks.
The Trump administration hasnt been successful in realizing any of its proposed modifications to SNAP, despite lots of rhetoric about shrinking the safety net.
Likelihood of a Biden rollback: Highif he has to do anything at all. If the Trump administration doesnt appeal the federal lawsuit quashing its work requirement rule by January, itll be dead on arrival. Similarly, if USDA doesnt publish final rules for the eligibility and utility deduction standards, the Biden administration will be able to drop the proposals.
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Is This Really The Suppression Of Political Speech
A lot of these systems are flagged automatically or occur when customer complaints come in, so thats a hard case to make. Theres no evidence that the carriers or their partners are flagging and blocking these messages for reasons other than preventing spam.
The telecom companies are also far more reserved when it comes to staking out a political position, with the carriers previously having praised Trump for his large corporate tax cut in 2017.
When it comes to combatting spam, the motivation is primarily driven by the need to eliminate something most people find annoying.
Robbing Rural Communities Of Their Natural Amenities
Despite research showing that green policy can bring an additional $8 billion annually to rural communities, Trump has instead spent his time in office rolling back environmental protections and ramping up fossil fuel development. For example, the Trump administration has favored gas and oil companies over renewable energy in the leasing of federal land. Some of the natural land auctioned off to oil companies is vital, irreplaceable wildlife habitat. In total, Trump has stripped federal protections from almost 35 million acres of natural land.
Natural amenities such as parks and quality outdoor recreation are essential to many rural communities and, in some places, have driven economic growth in recent years. By opening up rural areas to more fossil fuel extraction, the Trump administrations policies are trading the long-term viability of rural economies for the profit of giant corporations.
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Trump Mobilizing More Democrats Than Republicans
Gallup included a new question in this poll to gauge how much of a factor Trump is in mobilizing voters this year. Among registered voters, 36% say they are more likely to vote in the midterm elections because of their feelings about Trump, while 63% say their feelings about the president make no difference in whether they vote. While Trumps impact on mobilizing voters may seem somewhat low given his effect on voters candidate choice in the question above, these questions are measuring two distinct things intention to vote and vote choice. Whereas voters may be more motivated to cast their ballot for a specific candidate because of their feelings about Trump, they may have intended to vote regardless of who occupies the White House.
Democratic voters are more likely than Republican voters to say they will cast a ballot because of their feelings about Trump 44% to 29%, respectively. Republican voters skew older and are generally more likely to vote than Democratic voters, regardless of who is president. Yet, a majority of each partys voters still say Trump will not make a difference in whether they vote this year.
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Salt Fat Refined Grains Heat
The rules, in 10 words: Loosen school nutrition standards championed by Michelle Obama.
Projected impact: USDA has issued two proposals that would make school meals saltier, fattier, and higher in empty calories.The first would do away with Obama-era sodium reduction targets, halve whole-grain serving requirements, and re-introduce one-percent milk in schools. The second would decrease the amount of fruit that schools are required to offer for breakfast, while increasing the amount of starchy vegetables like white potatoes and corn they could offer in a single week.
Lovers: School lunch administrators food manufacturers.
Haters: Public health advocates.
Current status: A federal judge struck down the first proposal on procedural grounds in April, though it appears that USDA is making a last-ditch attempt to usher an identical rule through at this very moment. The second proposal hasnt moved forward under the standard rule-making process, however, USDA effectively implemented it via an emergency waiver, which justified the de-regulation as necessary in light of pandemic-related supply chain contractions.
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Congratulatory Message From Prime Minister Shinzo Abe To The Honorable Donald Trump President Of The United States Of America
Dear Mr. President,
ãI would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to you on the occasion of your inauguration as the President of the United States of America.
ãIt was a great pleasure for me to have a candid exchange of views at your home in New York in November. I look forward to working hands in hands with you to ensure peace and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and to address various challenges the international community faces.
ãIn the 21st Century, while the Asia-Pacific region is the source of the global economic growth, the security environment of the region is becoming severer. The Japan-U.S. Alliance, bound in universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, is playing even greater role. The Japan-U.S. Alliance is the linchpin of Japanâs foreign and security policies. I would like to further strengthen the unwavering tie between Japan and the United States based on the relationship of trust between us the two leaders.
ãI very much look forward to meeting with you again at the earliest possible occasion to discuss various challenges of the region and the world, and to send messages to the world on the importance of the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
ãPlease accept my best wishes for your great success, as well as for health and happiness of you and your family.
Sincerely,
Message In A Brooch: Tenderness For Covid Victimsand A Coded Prod For Donald Trump
In June 2018, avid royal watchers decoded the Queen’s use of a trio of broochesas if they were an epée, foil and broadswordfor President Donald Trumps working visit to Britain. On Day 1, a modest flower, a gift from his rivals, the Obamas on Day 2, the sapphire snowflake given to her by the Canadian people, a country Trump derided and on Day 3, a brooch habitually worn during mourning .
But the language of her dress could also communicate tenderness, such as the turquoise brooch, representing protection and hope, pinned to her shoulder as she broadcast a message of encouragement during the Covid-19 crisis in April 2020.
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The Trade Policy Has Been A Disaster
In January 2020, after more than a year of painful tit-for-tat tariffs, the U.S. and China reached a phase one trade agreement. China promised to buy an additional $12.5 billion worth of American agricultural goods that year based on market conditions.
But by the end of November 2020, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that dominated the last 12 months, Chinas purchases were only at 56% for Chinese imports of U.S. goods, according to calculations by the Peterson Institute for International Economics .
Other international trade choices also hurt American farmers.
The trade policy has been a disaster, said Glauber, the former USDA chief economist. From almost the first day of him being in office, he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and then spent a lot of the energy that he put into bilateral agreements with Japan and bilateral agreement and renegotiations of NAFTA. The big changes for agriculture were to put a lot of the provisions and TPP into those agreements.
On top of those issues, Glauber added, you have the trade wars which caused some very large disruptions in markets, not just in soybeans but in a variety of other markets. Not just with China, but also the EU and Canada had tariffs against our products. Our markets suffered because of that.
Farm bankruptcies in the U.S. increased by 20% in 2019, according to U.S. Courts data, reaching an 8-year high after 595 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed by family farms.
Sabotaging Essential Agriculture Market Data And Research
In 2018, the Trump administration abruptly announced that it planned to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the USDAs primary research bodies, away from Washington, D.C., to the Kansas City area. Justifying the move as a cost-saving measure and an initiative to move the research body closer to farmers and rural communities, independent analysts estimated that the move would actually cost the federal government up to $128 million over time. The government announced and hastily carried out the move, requiring employees to decide whether to accept the transfer before even being informed of the new location. The move resulted in the loss of about half of the ERS experts invited to relocate.
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Donald Trump Really Wants You To Text His Name To 88022 But Will He Ever Text Back
At Donald Trump rallies and news conferences, the invocation is very often printed in the cameras lines of sight to ensure maximum exposure:
Text Trump to 88022
If you assumed this is a fundraising ploy, youd be wrong. The Republican presidential front-runner is self-funding his campaign, remember?
Instead of money, Trump ostensibly wants a channel to communicate directly with voters. His website advertises exclusive updates for those who subscribe to the texting service.
One problem: Trump doesnt seem to use the service very often.
Two weeks ago, on the day of the Wisconsin primary, I signed up and prepared for The Donald to Make My iPhone Great Again with the exclusive updates I had been promised. Heres how it went.
And then nothing for 14 days.
Last week, Fix colleague Philip Bump had the good idea to subscribe using a New York ZIP code to see whether the Trump campaign might be targeting residents of the Empire State ahead of the primary. He got nothing for five days.
Finally, on primary day Tuesday, the first exclusive updates arrived.
Later, after I asked the campaign about its use or underuse of the text line, both Bump and I received this message.
What. A. Waste.
Maybe, in another message, Trump could ask subscribers to name the No. 1 issue in the campaign: Text A for immigration, B for terrorism, C for trade, D for gun rights.
Heres what Buell recommends:
Texts Come Hours Apart With No Clear Explanation For How The Money Will Be Spent
Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile
Former President Donald Trump is out of office, and has not announced any plans to run in the future, but that hasnt stopped his political action committee from bombarding his fans with daily requests for money and other support.
Months of text messages reviewed by The Independent reveal that supporters of the former president received at least one text message per day throughout the month of May, with some texts coming mere hours apart ahead of fundraising deadlines.
The donation links route money to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that splits funds between the Republican National Committee , Mr Trumps 2020 campaign for president, as well as the Save America PAC, an organisation founded by Mr Trump to fund his future political efforts.
The frequency of the calls for donations rivals that of most active political campaigns, and suggests that Mr Trump is keen on maintaining a massive war chest throughout his post-presidency that means his endorsement carries huge financial weight in any local race.
Some texts sent to supporters via the automated service are designed to appear as if they were personally written by the former president, while others are signed by Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr, and former first lady Melania Trump.
The Independent has reached out to the office of Mr Trump for comment.
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Look What People Are Saying
CNN– Tim Ferriss, ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’ & ‘The Tim Ferriss Show’– Entrepreneur Magazine – Dan Kennedy, No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent – Peter Shankman, Help A Reporter Out – Sandra Sims, Step by Step Fundraising – John Kremer, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books– Steve Purcell, LookToTheStars.org – Paul Hartunian, Free Publicity Information Center – Dan Janal, PR LEADS– Anthony Record, Autograph Magazine– Robert Skrob, Information Marketing Association – Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound
Siding With Agribusiness Against Independent Farmers
The Trump administration has demonstrated a complete disinterest in assisting small farms, as Secretary Perdue made explicit at an event in October 2019, where he was quoted as saying, In America, the big get bigger and the small go out. I dont think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability.
One of Trumps first actions in office was to withdraw Obama-era rules that protected livestock farmers from exploitation by powerful agriculture monopolies. Specifically, the Trump administration revoked rules that would prohibit meatpackers from paying different prices to farmers with similar products and banned them from retaliating against growers who organized collectively for better contract terms. The rules also prohibited bad-faith negotiation practices or the spurious cancelation of contracts with farmers. The set of rules, formulated by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration , also strengthened enforcement by lowering the standard for farmers bringing suit against meatpackers under the Packers and Stockyards Act. In place of these rules, the Trump administration finalized far weaker rules that some farmer advocates say cement the ability of packers to engage in unfair practices.
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Block Colour And Brooches: A Traditional Take For The Age Of Colour Television
In the 1960s, the Queen enthusiastically adopted triple gabardine, a durable, firm and hardwearing fabric, that was tailored so simply from 1964 by André Courrèges, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent into boxy jackets, A-line skirts and shift dresses. They were imitated soon after that by her own couturiers, but the placing of a regal brooch on the shoulder served as a reminder that some traditions are never vanquished.
This was also the decade in which bright, plain colourtomato red, cerulean blue, Wedgwood blue, mint green, daffodil yellowwas exploited, so that the Queen stood out in a crowd, but also as a tool of the televisual age. The BBC and ITV launched colour right across the schedule in 1969.
Only once has she worn trousers on an official engagementin the Sixties. It was deemed a failure which she did not repeat
She never favoured the fragile, ephemeral, informality of hippy dress. Her hair remained perfectly coiffed, reasonably short and under control. Alert to messaging, alive to how her clothes had to perform, she used the qualities of the early 1960s to serve her purpose, while those of the late 1960s would have undermined it. And only once has she worn trousers on an official engagementin the Sixties. It was deemed a failure which she did not repeat. Though her sister, Princess Margaret, loved to play with fashion, the Queen was held back from its wilder shores by duty and a lack of vanity. Image control has been everything.
